On September 6, 2016, the Allentown Police Department arrested two women during a prostitution sting after a police investigator found an advertisement on the website backpage.com. The two women, ages 18 and 24, and both residents of New York City, were charged with prostitution. Neither of the two women appear to have any prior arrests in Pennsylvania.
The CSE Institute has previously highlighted the amazing efforts in Lehigh County to combat sex trafficking, attributable to the laudable collaboration between the local police departments and the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office. While The CSE Institute acknowledges that engaging in sexual activity for money is a crime in Pennsylvania, prostitution is not always a choice. Many prostituted persons are sold by third party traffickers and are typically homeless, drug-addicted, undereducated, and/or unemployed.
While the CSE Institute applauds the work of the Allentown Police Department does to combat commercial sexual exploitation, we hope to see the Department take affirmative steps toward an anti-demand effort, targeting those who solicit prostitution and those who traffic victims in their jurisdiction.